The two-day “Global Biotechnology Summit” organised by department of biotechnology (DBT) under the ministry of science and technology, government of India, brought together nearly 1500 participants to discuss opportunities, collaborate and prepare a joint action plan for achieving the target for its biotech sector of US$ 100 billion by 2020.

The event also marked the celebration of the 30th foundation day of DBT. Participants included eminent scientists from national and international public and private sector organisations, universities, delegations from state governments, representatives and delegations from other countries with which DBT partners, students, research fellows, Biotech Start-up entrepreneurs, policy-makers, civil society . Also present on the occasion were the Former Secretaries of DBT.

Dr Harsh Vardhan, minister of science and technology and ES, was the chief guest for the occasion. Guests of honour were Radha Mohan Singh, minister of agriculture and farmers welfare, Nirmala Sitharaman, minister of state (Independent Charge), ministry of commerce and industry and Y S Chowdary, minister of state, ministry of science and technology and ES.

Dr Harsha Vardhan in his inaugural address said, over the 30 years DBT has achieved several heights and connected research to the needs of the people. Biotechnology has become a crucial arm of the Make in India campaign. The message of the summit is very clear. India is ready to be a global biotech destination.

The mega event showcased India’s biotechnology strength and capacity to attract investors and other key partners to invest in the biotech sector in India. The summit was a well planned follow-up to the Prime Minister’s call for Make in India to encourage the start-up ecosystem which has a potential for scale-up.

There were key plenary talks by Prof. Ada E. Yonath, Nobel Laureate, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel and Prof. Maria Leptin, EMBO- Excellence in Life Sciences, Heidelberg, Germany.

“Through its wonderful work the DBT has been actively contributing to some of the key initiatives of the government of India and contributed to multifarious areas like healthcare, agricultural, environmental and industrial” we are ready to launch the Start-up Ecosystem which will contribute immensely to achieving our target of US$100 billion by 2025,” said Y S Chowdhury.

Speaking on the occasion Radha Mohan Singh said the contribution of biotechnology to the achievements in the agriculture sector have been very crucial the impact of new technologies on development of improve varieties can be seen. I am confident that this sector will grow and contribute to the growth of the bio-economy.

Addressing the gathering Nirmala Sitharaman said India is today moving forward rapidly to be an innovation nation and Indian biotechnology is poised to provide solutions to a large number of challenges that we face in health, food and environmental sectors. The solutions that India offers are of relevance both nationally and globally. The biotech industry is well poised to achieve target of $US100 billion by 2025. A dynamic and vibrant biotechnology industry is one of the main engines of innovation.

The summit focused on the priority themes – Make in India, Start-up India - Nurturing Bio entrepreneurship, Skill India, Bio-tech opportunities and action for Swachh Bharat and Swasth Bharat, Biotechnology cooperation,  Biotechnology Innovation for inclusive development, Biotechnology and Society.

“Steered under the leadership of brilliant minds over the years, biotechnology in India has crossed significant milestones. With the experience of 30 years DBT’s endeavour will be to further improve our processes and culture so that we expand our reach and depth effectively,” said professor Vijay Raghavan, secretary DBT.

Plenary talks and panel discussions helped align the goals of the bio-tech strategy with the policies of state governments and prepare joint action plan. It showed the path to exciting opportunities for students and researchers by giving them an exposure to the best experts in the field.